My name is Valerie De Silva and I am the proud owner of my wedding planning business, “Together Forever Weddings.”  I have been requested to share my story and journey with you thus far.  To tell you a little about me, I have to go back a few years as things did not happen overnight as you can imagine.  

My background has always been in Hospitality since the age of 15 years old.  This was the starting point which taught me about the ultimate customer experience.  From here, I continued my experience at David Jones with a company called Bottom of the Harbour and working at an exclusive five star restaurant.  This was followed closely by my involvement in the athletes’ village at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. 

In 2001, I went on to study a Bachelor of Applied Science in Hospitality Studies at RMIT.  The submission of a successful thesis on “Special Events” towards the end of my degree led me to landing a position as an exhibition coordinator with a well known event management company, namely “Harry’s.”  At the same time, while completing my degree, I had the opportunity to work on high profile exhibitions such as: The Melbourne Homeshow, The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, RUMBA and the Sydney Franchising, Investment and Property Expo to name just a few. 

With a couple of years of experience under my belt, I decided that I wanted to specialise within just one field of the world of events and exhibitions.  With open-mindedness, determination and persistence, I set about researching what it is that I truly wanted to specialise and excel at in the industry.  The wake up call came sooner than expected with the planning, organising, coordinating and orchestrating of my own wedding. 

Within a few months, my creative flair and passion had taken over with the attendance of a one day seminar with Paula Barham from Wedding Inc.  Sitting in the function room at the Rendezvous Hotel that day, I felt that this was the trigger for my wedding planner career.  Paula’s course was amazing and really gave me the stepping stone to pursue and set up my own wedding planning business. 

Therefore, after completion of my course in May  2008, I set about researching the industry, building rapport and establishing relationships with suppliers, finding out who was who of the wedding industry and the list of products and services on offer in the wedding industry.  I learnt as much as I could by observing bridal couples at all these exhibitions throughout 2008.  I attended so many exhibitions to build up my knowledge and find new ideas.  I set up my business plan, designed my website.  The legal part of the business had to be organized; I also had to implement simple processes and systems to start up with. 

As the Melbourne Bridal Exhibition was around the corner in January 2009, I began quickly thinking about how I would display and set up my stand.  It was all about the professional image that I wanted to showcase to my clients.  I set goals and forecasted budget figures in line with my expectation in participating in this exhibition.  I designed and ordered tote bags, business cards, a pop up display and included other items which could make my stand eye catching.  It had to project my own identity, most importantly, what I could achieve in order to make it special for every bride and groom that I spoke to. 

Participating in my first exhibition was such a thrilling experience.  It was the first time that I was standing on my own stand and I was able to deliver my passion for wedding planning to all future brides and grooms.  From this exhibition, my business simply doubled with the number of wedding bookings. 

My next Melbourne Bridal Exhibition at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre in August 2009 was great for my business as I watched my business grow beyond my expectations.  I was more focused and in the mind set than ever.  I would never have expected those numbers of weddings for my first year of operation. 

The best part about working with my clients’ is the diversity of their nationalities and cultures from China, Singapore, India, Germany, Russia, Malta, Croatian, Netherlands, Chili and Australia.  My goal is to “make it happen” for a young couple according to their expectations.  Each couple is different and requires special attention according to their cultural background and tradition.  It has been such a learning and rich experience to work with couples of different cultures.  

I soon became part of a wedding network in Melbourne strictly attended by suppliers within the wedding industry as well as becoming a member of the Women Making It Work network for women who are owners and entrepreneurs of their own businesses within my residential area.  My involvement within these networks enabled me to quickly get the word out about my business and share my passion.  Without investing in marketing and without advertising my business in wedding magazines and on websites, I have purely obtained the business that I have by maximising my presence at every exhibition I am involved in.  Having a plan for every exhibition I partake in, has enabled me to reach the level of success that I have achieved. 

My last exhibition was at the January 2010 Melbourne Bride and Honeymoon Expo at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre.  The built up of crowds around my stand was overwhelming.  It was fantastic!!  The questions, queries and level of interest received were beyond any other exhibition.  It is evident that the hard work is now paying up.  I can be happy with what I have achieved so far: there have been many challenges, but I know for sure that my passion for wedding planning will keep growing over the years.